02x01 - Chapter 1: The Troll Circle

[bunniefuu]

[calm music]

[elf screaming]

Help! Somebody stop this thing!

We're coming for you!

[elf screaming]

[grunts]

[suspenseful music]

[barking]

[chirping]

[yawns]

[yelps]

[yells]

[grunts]

[grumbles]

Sorry!

[panting]

Oh, no! Where'd he go, boy?

[sniffing]

Wait.

Trolls?

This doesn't make any sense.


- [gasps]


- [growls]

[whimpers]

I'll take that!

[grunts]

Heh. Good job, boy!

Let's go.

[tolling]


- [yells]


- [growls]

Oh, you're not a troll.

I'm not. But even if I was,

wouldn't I be a rock right now?

It's daytime after all.

[farmer] Sorry for being jumpy.

Some trolls cleared my field last night

and took my goat.

But how are there trolls

inside of the wall?

Which side of the wall

do you think you're on, kid?

Ah. We must have followed

the train tracks through

when we were chasing that thing.

Mom would k*ll me if she knew.

Do they normally come this close

to the wall?

No, but they're everywhere lately.

As if the vittra tunnels

weren't bad enough.

Hm.

Well, I'm going in to eat my dinner now.

[elf] Pardon me.

I also have a dinner engagement.

I would appreciate a prompt return

to my neighborhood.

Of course.

Bye!

Hey! This isn't where I live!

[birds chirping]

[theme music]

[tranquil music]

[clock ticking]

Hey, sorry I'm late!

Mm
-hm.

Ooh.

[whimpers]

Your mom and the elf said

we had to wait for you.

It is standard protocol.

Now we can pass the pie.


- How's David?


- Huh?

You went to David's house.

That's where you came from, right?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

David's fine. We just watched a video.

The pie, please.

Must have been an exciting video.

Why is there dirt on your sweater?

Yeah, we played in the garden

afterward so, you know.

Uh, could you continue this discussion

after you pass the pie?

Yes, of course.

Bon appétit, everyone.

Ah, finally.

[doorbell rings]

Ah. Who's that?

[sighs]

That's it, I'm taking this to
-go.

Hello?


- Sorry to interrupt dinner.


- Oh, um, come on in.

[Erik] This is important.

I'm Erik Ahlberg, new Head Officer

of Trolberg Safety Patrol.

This is Gerda Gustav, my associate.

[clears throat]

Associate Deputy Officer.

You can call me Deputy for short, though.

We're here regarding Hilda.

As in me?

Has she done something?

She has.

Something quite serious.

[gulps]

She's won our first annual

Safety Patrol Student Essay Contest.

[pops]

This is not a drill, ma'am.

She is the official winner.

[Johanna] That's wonderful!

Hilda, you didn't tell me

you'd entered an essay contest.

It was just a school thing.

We all had to write essays

on the same topic.

"Trolls: Perils and Preparedness."

Hilda wrote a vivid description

of her own encounter with a troll.

She was nearly eaten alive,

but before her final escape,

she managed to pluck her sketchbook

from his gaping maw!

Thrilling stuff.

Particularly the illustrations.

You never told me about that.

[nervous laugh]

Of course, she didn't.

Why cause you unnecessary distress?

It all turned out in the end.

Such is the life of an adventurer.

Eh, Hilda?

Exactly!

We could all learn

a thing or two from her.

Hm.

Hilda, as the winner of our contest,

you have been selected to participate

in a ride
-along

with the Safety Patrol tomorrow.

We're conducting a thorough inspection

of the city's troll defenses.

But tomorrow's a school day.

Principal Magnussen feels

that this experience provides

educational benefits

that justify a day outside the classroom.

Yes!

Subject to your approval, of course.

Mom?

Oh. All right, then.

Excellent!

Until tomorrow, Hilda.

Until tomorrow.

Congratulations!

You could have said something

about that essay though.

Never mind the troll.

It wasn't really a big thing.

I mean, I don't tell you

every little thing that happens to me.

Hm. Apparently, you don't.

So, my essay offered a broad historical

perspective on troll safety.


- Heavily footnoted, I presume?


- Absolutely.

Oh, sounds delightful!

To be fair, Hilda's piece is more

of a compelling read.

Congratulations on your win.

Thanks.

I think this is the first

time I've ever won anything.

So what's the big prize?

I get to go with Safety Patrol

to look at the troll defenses.

Mm. I wouldn't miss school for that.

[kids laughing]

[gasping]

I take it back.

[panting]

You're riding in that thing?

I hope so!

Well, I'm glad I never turned in my essay.

The thought of going up in one of those

makes me queasy.

Oh, please. Dirigibles are perfectly safe.

Looks more reliable than a woff.


- But less cozy.


- Hmm.

[Erik] Hilda!

There she is.

Looking forward to seeing the city

from the air?

I think so!

[gasps]

Erik Ahlberg, welcome

to Edmund Ahlberg Elementary School.

We're so honored to have a descendant

of our famous namesake

deliver an address to our students.

The honor is all mine.

I bear a striking resemblance,

wouldn't you say?

Ooh!


- Eh.


- [Magnussen] And Hilda!

I hope you'll be

on your best behavior today.

Bit of a wildcard, this one. Huh?

I'm sure we'll get along famously.

I'm a bit of a wildcard myself.

[snickers]

Let's get on with the speech, shall we?

[Erik] And so, children of Trolberg,

the next time you awaken from a nightmare

in which a troll rips you from your bed,

rest assured that your nightmare

shall never become a reality on my watch.

[all clapping]

Here I stand with one

of your fellow students by my side,

a girl who has felt troll breath

on her cheek.


- Whoo!


- [all clapping]

Together, we shall ring in

a new era of security.

It begins with the sound of a single bell.

[ringing]

But my bell shall be followed

by another, and another.

[ringing]

[tolling]

Um, Mr. Ahlberg?

I'm not sure all this bell talk

is such a good idea.

Come! The skies await us.

[applauding]

Whoa!

Take us up, Deputy Gerda!

[sputtering]

Ah, what a thrilling send
-off!

A little loud, but thrilling, nonetheless.

[suspenseful music]

Wow, you can really see how far

the city stretches from up here!

As I think, even old Edmund

the Trollslayer would be surprised

at how much Trolberg has grown.

Why did they build a city

in the middle of troll country anyway?

Why not?

The trolls weren't doing anything special

with the land.

Coming up on a bell tower

at two o'clock, sir.

[Erik] Will you look at that?

There's no bell in there at all!

That's a violation

of the Bell Tower Act of 1892

which clearly states that all bell towers

must be equipped with working bells.

And we're going to make sure

that they are.

Bring us around.

We must check all the others at once!

Some kind of localized weather system.

Oh, no.

Uh, maybe we should go around it?

Nonsense. Safety waits for no one.

Engines on full!

[engine rattling]

[crackling]

Steady ahead.

That's the last time

I let you take the scenic route.

Oh, right. You didn't seem to mind

when you were

Well, excuse me.

[crackling]

[Gerda] Ooh!

What was that?

The nerve of some people.


- [machines beeping]


- Get control, Deputy!

It is not responding!

[grunts]

That's not good.

[rumbles]

[all yell]

Oh!

Oh, come on!

[gasps]

[grunting]

[beeping]

[sputtering]

[grunts]

[both yell]

[thuds]

Oh.

[snickers]

Well, I think that concludes

the airborne inspection for today.

And maybe we leave this out of the report.

Well, I won't be leaving it

out of my report!

[buzzing]

Our newly designed Safety Patrol car,

fully loaded with anti
-troll devices.

This baby has an automated bell,

inflatable shields, and 25 canisters

of grade A troll repellent.

I thought that stuff didn't really work?

Oh, it works all right.

Safety Patrol is on a roll!

If you ask me, the biggest threat

to public safety around here

is the cod sandwich at the Salty Maiden.

Nobody knows for certain what's in it.

But it's not cod.

"Investigate cod sandwich."

Yes, but what about trolls?

They say a troll can walk

along the ocean floor

and march up onshore,

pretty as you please.

And what defense does the harbor have

against such a thing?

Why don't you just stick a bell down there

to be sure?

Oh, there's an old bell

down there, all right.

But it hasn't been rung in, oh, three,

four hundred years, give or take.

Fascinating.

Mm.

As a Sparrow Scout leader,

I trust you're up to date

on the Trolls Safety Protocols manual.

Of course. I know it by heart.

It's been the same for years.


- Ooh!


- [Erik] Not anymore!

The old one was rather thin

by my standards.

I'm sure you'll memorize the new one

in no time.


- [groans]


- Hup, hup, Hilda!

[howling]

[Erik] Hello!

Hmm.

Who's supposed to be manning

this station, Deputy?

[man] That'll be me.

You are the keeper of the bell here,

along the wall?

For quite some years now.

What is the current threat

level assessment?

Between climbing where they shouldn't

and carving things into the rocks,

I'd say kids do more damage to the wall

than trolls.

Hm.

But I'll admit that I've seen more trolls

than usual around here

in the past couple of weeks.

And do they come close?

Funny you should ask.

Last night, I made myself a sandwich.

What kind of sandwich?

[snickers]

Good question.

Cucumber, I think.

That's my favorite.

You're not sure?

Hmm. It could have been watercress.

Oh, who cares!

Please, go on.

I like to set up on the wall

and enjoy a midnight snack.

[man] But this time, I got up there

and dropped my sandwich.

[Gerda] Sandwich yet to be identified.

[man chuckles]

And I'll be a son of woff,

if there wasn't a troll but a meter away

who swooped in and took it.

[chuckles]

[laughs]

But you didn't ring the bell?

Why would he? The troll got

what he came for and left.

Hilda, please. This is official

Safety Patrol business.

Now, the bell.

Yep, no need to make a fuss.

I had no idea

that trolls even liked sandwiches.

Yes, but what kind?

There's so much we don't know.

And next time, ring the bell.

[Erik] Hmm.

This section of the wall seems to be

in need of some upkeep.

I will schedule a maintenance team

first thing in the morning.

What's wrong?

[sighs]

I don't know.

It's just, today isn't what I hoped

it would be.

I don't think I've learned anything

about trolls or safety.

You have a point.

A surprising amount

of sandwich
-based information though.

Wait, I know this place.

These tracks run through the wall.

Definitely a security weak point.

I ran through here yesterday, actually.

Right into a circle of trolls.

And I thought, that's weird.

What are they doing inside the wall?

But of course, they weren't inside,

I was outside.

You found a circle of trolls near here?

Um, yes?

Show me.

[foreboding music]

They looked a lot calmer yesterday.

Troll meetings can be short on decorum.

Deputy Gerda,

I think some photos are in order.


- Get your camera.


- On it, sir!

This will look great on the front page

of the newspaper.


- Heroic enough?


- [Gerda] Very nice!


- Yes!


- Wonderful!

[grunts]

[Gerda] Oh, yeah, majestic!

[grunts]

Yeah. Just one more!

[Erik] No, make it two!

Okay, this is ridiculous.

A little more to the right,

that's a good one, sir!

[Erik] Work it. Mm, this will look great.

Let's get one more.

Come here, Hilda.

I really think we should

[sighs]

Get behind me, like so.

[sighs]

[Erik] Now, look frightened.

[gasps]

Yes! That's very good.

[troll groans]


- [yells]


- Look out!

[crashes]

[growls]

[shouts]


- Oh, dear!


- [yells]

How glorious!


- [camera shutter clicks]


- [shrieks]

[groans]

Come on, let's go!

Not without the camera!

Are you kidding me?

[loud thud]

We have to get out of here!

I second the motion. Retreat!

[grunting]

Come on!

[laughs]

Wait! No!


- [ringing]


- [trolls groan]

Stop it!

[trolls growl]

[grunts]

[high
-pitched blaring]

[growls]

[hisses]

[growling]

Oh!

[screeches]

[groaning]

Oh, no!


- [growls]


- [shouts]

Go! I am okay.

[bell tinkling]

[both panting]

Any idea where we're going?

There's a farmhouse nearby. Come on!

[trolls snarling]

They're following us!

[Hilda] We're almost there!

Help! Trolls! Let us in!

Open up, citizen!


- [Erik] This is not a request!


- Oh!

You are in direct violation of several

Trolberg City safety regulations!


- [trolls growl]


- Oh, no.

[trolls snarl]

What's all this racket?

Oh. Night.


- Exhilarating.


- [shushes]

Now what do we do?

There's nowhere to go!


- [Hilda] The vittra tunnel.


- Oh!

If we're careful, I think we can make it.

We've just got to wait for our moment.

They already took my goat.

What more do they want from me?

[pig squeals]

Oh, no, you don't!

[tolling]

[groaning]

Now!

[clanging]

[growls]

Run!

Never forget.

I am Erik Ahlberg,

defender of Trolberg

and enemy of trollkind!

[screams]

[groans]

[grunts]

You and your stupid bells!

Did you even read my essay?

The bell just made the troll upset!

Exactly.

What?

Trolls might not be afraid of bells

but they are deeply annoyed by them.

It's a surefire way to rile them up.

Why would you want to do that?

[Erik] In the old days, all old Edmund

had to do was wander into troll country,

and boom, he's famous!

Nowadays, it's not so easy.

It's one thing to take a stand.

But if you want to make history,

then you have to make it happen.

And that's what I intend to do.

[rumbles]

Did you hear that?

They've found us.

Phew! You two okay?

We're fine.

I'm going home now.

These tunnels go right under the wall

into Trolberg?

Now that's a major security breach.

[reporter] Your inspection

of the city's defenses

revealed quite a few weaknesses, you say?

Indeed, it did.

Including a hidden network of tunnels

under the wall.

But the Safety Patrol shall fill in

each and every one in the coming weeks.

No trolls will be tunneling into our city

on my watch!

[groans]

The truth is that today, on his watch,

Ahlberg almost got himself eaten

by a troll.

We elves pride ourselves

on the accuracy of our historical records.

So you can rest assure that my report

will give a true accounting

of today's events,

which shall be widely read among elfkind.

Well, at least a bunch of tiny,

invisible people will know the truth.

[closing theme music]